There is this assumption, that doesn't gel with actual English usage, that people throwing around 'he' and 'she's are assigning gender with their language. If we think about usage only, the vast majority of English speakers use 'he' and 'she' to report sex, not assign gender, consciously or not. That's because the sex-gender distinction is almost never operative, and when the distinction collapses, it's going to collapse closer to sex, not gender.
When one side insists that gender is the only operative concept, then they are possibly forcing a meaning (confusing sex for gender) to the other side, no matter how well-intentioned or offended they are.
That being said, I'd be okay with getting rid of the pronouns completely. Chinese seems to do okay without them.
When one side insists that gender is the only operative concept, then they are possibly forcing a meaning (confusing sex for gender) to the other side, no matter how well-intentioned or offended they are.
That being said, I'd be okay with getting rid of the pronouns completely. Chinese seems to do okay without them.